Crisis Point
Why We Must – and How We Can – Overcome Our Broken Politics in Washington and Across America
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
With a new afterword on the 2016 election
Trent Lott and Tom Daschle, two of the most prominent senators of recent time, served as leaders of their respective parties from the 1990s to the current century. Their congressional tenure saw the Reagan tax cuts, the Clinton impeachment, 9/11, and the Iraq War. Despite stark ideological differences, the two have always maintained a positive working relationship--even a warm friendship--the kind that in today's hyper-partisan climate has become unthinkable.
In Crisis Point, Lott and Daschle come together to sound an alarm on the current polarization that has made governing all but impossible; never before has faith in government been so dismally low. The senators itemize damaging forces--the permanent campaign, unprecedented money, the 24/7 news cycle--and offer practical recommendations, pointing the way forward. Most crucially, they recall the American people, especially our leaders, to the principles enshrined in the Constitution, and to the necessity of debate but also the imperative of compromise--which will take vision and courage to bring back.
Illustrated with personal stories from their eminent careers and events cited from deeper in American history, Crisis Point is an invaluable work--one of conscience as well as duty, written with passion and eloquence by two men who have dedicated their lives to public service and share the conviction that all is far from lost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lott and Daschle (Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis), two former Senate majority leaders from different parties, pool their combined insights as Washington elder statesmen, to unimpressive effect. They propose to provide a map for escaping a Darwinian political system that has made governing all but impossible. The book is on target when identifying some of the chief factors behind current hyperpartisan dysfunction: an unending campaign season, the corrupting power of money, and the relentless news cycle. In a populist spirit, Lott and Daschle also abhor low voter turnout. They have an admirable vision, but stick to safe, bland themes and comforting examples of past effective leadership. This well-meaning volume overflows with bromides like "freedom is an American value" while minimizing the aggressive lobbying and combativeness that exemplify political life in the nation's capital. Its calls for public service, collective responsibility, and sacrifice will not halt the vicious pursuit of power or foil the red-toothed political carnivores that both Lott and Daschle know all too well. However sensible and benign, their reflections fail to offer any concrete steps to change the status quo.
